The annual Asia CEO Awards, one of the region’s largest business events that recognize local and international organizations for their remarkable achievements, recently held its 14th awards night at the Manila Marriott Grand Ballroom.
The award-giving body honored and celebrated industry leaders who heralded a new era of business excellence in the country. Nominations were opened to Philippine-based individuals and corporations who displayed exemplary leadership achievements in their work in the region over the past year. Each category zeroed in on a positive contribution, through their work, to the economic growth and expansion of the country, both locally and globally.
The Asia CEO Awards 2023 recognized IBM in the Philippines Consulting Client Innovation Center (CIC) as ADEC Innovations Executive Leadership Team of the Year among the circle of excellence companies: Airspeed Group of Companies, Datamatics Global Services Corp., Eastvantage Business Solutions, Inc.
Filinvest Land Inc., Maya, Northern Operating Services Asia Inc., Sante International Inc., Sprout Solutions and VXI Global Holdings B.V. (Philippines). Immuni Global Incorporated bagged the Airspeed SME Company of the Year from among the circle of excellence companies: Autokid Subic Trading Corporation, DynaQuest Technology Services Inc., eBiZolution Inc., Embiggen Group, Hytec Power Inc., Motovita, OVA VIRTUAL, PSO (Manila) Limited Philippine Branch Office, andWhat’s Your FLAN International Group of Franchise Companies.
The Figari Entrepreneur of the Year went to Jesus Joey T. Marcelo – CEO, Sante International, Inc. from the circle of excellence nominees: Charlotte Reyes, Founder and President, OVA VIRTUAL; Chet Pastrana, President & CEO, Archipelago Philippine Ferries Corporation (APFC); Francisco Magsaysay, Founder, Carmen’s Best Dairy Products Inc.; Joash Tubaga, Owner Founder, FIXMYMAC I.T. SERVICES; Maria Angeline Fon, Founder, Thinkstitute PHL; Mharicar Castillo-Reyes, President and CEO, Asticom Group of Companies; Regieno Valencia, Owner, Interior Construction Services; Rolan Marco Garcia, Founding CEO & Managing Partner, Embiggen Group; Rommel Carlos, Chief Executive Officer, Nokarin & Arcus; and Victor Lim, Co-Founder & CEO, Kraver’s.
The Filinvest Expatriate Executive of the Year was awarded to Aseem Roy – Country Head, Wipro Philippines, Inc. from the circle of excellence nominees: Amit Jagga, SVP and Country Leader, Concentrix Philippines; Aseem Roy, Country Head, Wipro Philippines; Eng Teng Wong, President and CEO, Pru Life UK; Kais Marzouki, Chairman and CEO, Nestlé Philippines, Inc.; Praveer Chadha, SVP Customer Management Services, Datamatics Global Services Corp.; Sanjiv Gupta, President and Country Head, IBM Solutions Delivery, Inc.; Shiju K. Varghese, Country Head and President, TATA Consultancy Services (Philippines), Inc.; and Sudhir Agarwal, Founder & CEO, Everise.
The winner of Foundever Young Leader of the Year is Walther Uzi E. Buenavista – President and CEO, Shawarma Shack Group from among the circle of excellence nominees: Eric Darryl Lim, Exec Vice President, Autokid Subic Trading Corporation; James Aaron Lacsamana, Head of IT, Eastvantage Business Solutions, Inc.; Joshua Palisoc, COO, Ask Lex PH Academy; Mark Alvarez, Managing Partner & Senior Business Director South East Asia, Human8; Ralph Ray Chua, Chairman of the Board and President, Immuni Global Incorporated and Shireli Manufacturing Company; Rolan Marco Garcia, Founding CEO & Managing Partner, Embiggen Group; Sean Gabriel Villoria, CEO, GerWeiss Motors Corporation; and Walther Buenavista, President and CEO, Shawarma Shack Group
Maybank Philippines clinched the ibex CSR Company of the Year from among the circle of excellence nominees: DynaQuest Technology Services Inc.; EXL Service Philippines, Inc.; Gardenia Bakeries (Philippines), Inc.; Genpact Services LLC – Philippines Branch; HSBC Global Service Centre Philippines; Innodata Knowledge Services, Inc.; KMC Solutions; Manila Water Foundation; Nezda Technologies Inc.; OpenText (Philippines), Inc.; Personal Collection; Procter and Gamble Philippines; TDCX (PH), Inc. and Wipro Philippines Inc.
Nestle Philippines, Inc. was named the iCXeed Diversity Company of the Year besting the circle of excellence companies: Aboitiz Land, Inc.; Foundever Philippines Corporation; Genpact Services LLC – Philippines Branch; Hewlett Packard Enterprise; HSBC GSC Philippines; loveyourself inc.; Manulife Business Processing Services; Northern Operating Services Asia Inc.; Shell Companies in the Philippines (SCiP); Teleperformance Philippines; TTEC; and Ubisoft Philippines
The Kyani Wellness Company of the Year was conferred to Seda Hotels from among the circle of excellence companies: CBRE; Diageo APAC SSC LTD INC.; Dyson (Dyson Electronics Pte. Ltd. – Philippine Branch); Hewlett Packard Enterprise; Infosys BPM Philippines; Manulife Business Processing Services; TDCX (PH), Inc.; Teleperformance Philippines; and VXI Global Holdings B.V. (Philippines)
Lionheart Farms Sustainability Company of the Year was awarded to Robinsons Land Corporation – Commercial Centers Division (Robinsons Malls) from among the circle of excellence nominees: Aboitiz InfraCapital; Alaska Milk Corporation; Bank of the Philippine Islands; Concentrix Philippines; DynaQuest Technology Services Inc.; Filinvest REIT Corp.; Foundever Philippines Corporation; Land Bank of the Philippines; Lexmark Research and Development Corporation; Nestle Philippines, Inc.; and Securities and Exchange Commission Philippines.
The MicroSourcing Service Excellence Company of the Year was given to Asian Hospital and Medical Center from among the circle of excellence companies: Amaia Land Corp.; CGI Philippines, Inc.; Eastvantage Business Solutions, Inc.; GoTyme Bank; ING Hubs Philippines; Public Attorney’s Office (PAO); Sprout Solutions; Sutherland Global Services; Tech Mahindra Limited; Theos Cyber Solutions and Unified Internship Program.
Ma. Rhodora Campos, Country Head, Infosys BPM Philippines was named the PLDT Enterprise Global Filipino Executive of the Year from among the circle of excellence nominees: Dante Abando, President, Makati Development Corporation (MDC); Eppie Titong III, SVP & Country Manager, VXI Global Holdings B.V. (Philippines); Jennire Torres, CEO, Atos; Atty. Jose Martin Loon, President and Chief Executive Officer, United Coconut Planters Life Assurance Corporation (COCOLIFE); Lito Villanueva, Executive Vice President & CIIO, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation; and Raymund Berja, Chief Financial Officer, AirAsia Philippines.
PSG Global Solutions Woman Leader of the Year was awarded to Haidee Enriquez, CEO, MicroSourcing Philippines Inc. & Beepo from among the circle of excellence nominees: Abigail Del Rosario, Country Director for Philippines, Maybank; Annalyn Cuisia, CEO/Founder/President, TRAXION TECH; Cosette Canilao, President & CEO, Aboitiz InfraCapital; Divine Gomez, Partner – Business Process Operations – Talent Transformation; IBM Business Services Inc. – BPO Philippines; Grace Vera Cruz, Country Head, Grab Philippines; Lotis Ramin, Country President, AstraZeneca Philippines; Ma. Rhodora Campos, Country Head, Infosys BPM Philippines; Marilene Acosta, CEO Pag-IBIG Fund; Nerissa Gerial, Deputy Executive Director for Nursing Service, NKTI; Rosemarie Rafael, Chairperson & President, Airspeed Group of Companies; and Tonichi Parekh, Vice-President, Concentrix Philippines.
RELX Reed Elsevier Top Employer of the Year was given to Concentrix Philippines from among the circle of excellence nominees: [24]7.ai Philippines; Gardenia Bakeries (Philippines), Inc.; Hewlett Packard Enterprise; HSBC Global Service Centre Philippines; IBM in the Philippines; PepsiCo, Inc. Philippine Branch; Shopping Center Management Corporation; Tech Mahindra Limited; Teleperformance Philippines; TTEC; United Coconut Planters Life Assurance Corporation (COCOLIFE); and Wipro Philippines Inc.
Sprout Solutions Technology Company of the Year was awarded to EdukSine Production Corporation from among the circle of excellence companies: Ask Lex PH Academy; Dyson (Dyson Electronics Pte. Ltd. – Philippine Branch); GoTyme Bank; PCCW Solutions Philippines Inc.; Pili Seal; and TATA Consultancy Services (Philippines), Inc.
Maya earned the United Neon Most Innovative Company of the Year from among the circle of excellence companies: ALLCARE Technologies Philippines, Inc.; CGI Philippines, Inc.; Converge ICT Solutions, Inc.; Embiggen Group; GoTyme Bank; Maybank Philippines; MDI Novare; Ramco Systems; Traxion Tech; VXI Global Holdings B.V. (Philippines); and Western Digital Storage Technologies (Philippines) Corp.
The awardees for this year were selected by an esteemed board of judges, namely: Architect Felino “Jun” Palafox Jr. PhD; “Mother-of-Philippine-Franchising” Bing Sibal-Limjoco; AMCHAM Ex-Officio and Chairman of the ICT and Health Committee Don Felbaum; Chairman Emeritus of PwC Philippines Atty. Alex Cabrera; Economist Dr. Bernie Villegas; past CEO of Pag-IBIG Funds Atty. Darlene Berberabe; business leader Jack Madrid, and Chairman of the Asia CEO Awards Richard Mills.
Excellence with Education
The Asia CEO Awards’ 14th year also proved to be a pivotal one, as Rebecca Bustamante, founder of the Asia CEO Awards, launched the Learning Excellence & Active Development (L.E.A.D.) Center, a custom-built facility focused on producing highly competent, critical, and proactive future Filipino leaders and business innovators. Guided by the vision of “Together We Can Do More”, the leadership development framework will also include advocacy and outreach work for poverty and hunger alleviation.
As the Philippine economy continues to open up and improve, the Asia CEO Awards pays tribute to the game changers of the business community as they contribute to nation-building efforts.
“The Philippines has so many business leaders waiting in the wings for their chance to drive the economy to greater heights,” Bustamante emphasizes. “They are strong, compassionate, and resilient. We see this every year, and now we want to do our part to help nurture this potential.”
The Asia CEO Awards and its programs are made possible by the valuable partners who have shared the same vision over the years. Grand Title Sponsor is Globe Telecom. Elite Award Sponsors include: ADEC Innovations, Airspeed, Figari, Filinvest, Foundever, ibex, iCXeed, Kyani Philippine, Inc., Lionheart Farms, Microsourcing, PLDT Enterprise, PSG Global Solutions, RELX Reed Elsevier, Sprout Solutions, and United Neon. Official Knowledge Partner is PwC. Prestige Sponsor is Beepo. Official Venue is Marriott Manila. Media Partners include BusinessWorld, inquirer.net, Manila Bulletin, SMNI, THEPHILBIZNEWS. Supporters include A-List Partners and Consulting, Inc., Bares & Estrellas, Spotlight by Ever Bilena and Volenday.